Buttonhole-sewing-machine clamp.



UNITED STATES PATENT ornrcn JOHN KIEWICZ, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO WHEELER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPO- RATION OF MAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 6, 1906.

Application filed April 27, 1905. Serial No. 257,683.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KrEwIoz, a subject of the Czar of Russia, residing at Hyde Park, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Buttonhole Sewing- Machine Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a fabric-clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines, the object of the invention being'to provide a simple, cheap, and conveniently and quickly operated clamp for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the fol.- lowing specification and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved fabric clamp, showing the same in position upon the workplate of a buttonhole-sewing machine and in connection with a portion of the bed-plate of said machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the fabric-clamp as viewed from the right of Fig. 1, showing the presserfeet down in position to clamp the fabric. Fig. 4 is aside elevation similar to Fig. 3,

illustrating the resser-feet raised. Fig. 5 is a section, partly in elevation, taken on line 5 5, Fig. 1, lookingtoward the leftin said figure.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawin s, 24 is the fabric clamp, which consists of a base-plate 25, having a longitudinal slot 26 extending therethrough, the edges of saidslot fitting into an annular groove 27, formed in the periphery of the needle throat 23. The base-plate of said clamp has a bracket 28 extending vertically upward from the rear end thereof, and through said bracket extends a horizontal pivotal pin 29, said pivotal pin projecting longitudinally beyond the opposite sides of the bracket 28 and forming a pivot upon each side of said bracket, upon which is mounted a pair of V-springs 30 and 31. Said V-springs are pivoted at their apices to the pivotal pin 29, and two presser-feet 32 33 are pivoted at one end of thelong arms, respectively, of each of said V-springs. A lever 34 is pivoted at 35 to the bracket 28 and is arranged to bear against the short arms 36 of the V-springs 30 and 31, said lever being flattened at one end 38 in order to lock the presser-feet and the V- springs in the position illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5that is, when the presser-feet are forced against the fabric, as hereinafter described.

Beneath the presser-feet 32 and 33 is a fabric-support intwo parts 39 and 40, located upon opposite sides, respectively, of the slot 26, and these fabric-supporting parts extend upwardly at their rear ends and engage the pivot 29. A U -shaped spring 41 extends around the outer sides of the rear ends of the V-springs 30 and 31, the free ends of said U- shaped spring being bent to project between the short and long arms of said V-springs, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, and the action of this U-shaped spring is to hold the V- shaped springs and the parts 39 and upon the pivot 29, while at the same time said parts are loosely mounted upon said pivot, so that the front ends of the parts 39 and 40 and also of the long arms 37 of the V -springs 30 and 31 may be moved laterally toward and away from each other. The front ends of the parts 39 and 40, forming the fabric-support, are moved away from each other by a camlever 42, pivoted to a stud 43, fast to the baseplate 25. Said cam-lever has fastened thereto a cam-plate 44,which is located between the forward free ends of the parts 39 and 40, so that when said lever is rocked upon its pivot the parts 39 and 40 will be moved at their free ends, moving horizontally upon the pivot 29, and at the same time the presserfeet 32 and 33, being clamped against the fabric and said fabric resting upon the parts 39 and 40, will move laterally away from each other, moving horizontally upon the pivot 29 during this movement. The lever 42 is rocked upon its pivot 43 by an arm 34, fast to the lever 34, said arm constituting, in effect, an extension of the pivot35 of said lever 34. The arm 34 projects downwardly and engages an upward extension or wing 42, formed at the opposite end of the lever 42 to that at which said lever is pivoted, said Wing 42 standing at an angle to the median line of the slot 26.

When the lever 42 is returned to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the presser-feet 32 and 33 and the parts 39 and 40 of the fabricsupport will move toward each other, said parts 39 and 40 being thus actuated by a U- shaped spring 45, the free ends of which embrace and engage the free ends of the parts 39 and 40. The presser-feet 32 and 33 are drawn together, partly by the U -shaped spring 45, acting through the arts 39 and 40 and the fabric against whic said presserfeet are clam ed, and the U-shaped spring 41, which em races the V-springs and 31 at their rear ends, it being understood that the presser-feet 32 and 33 are supported upon said V-springs.

A vertical pin 46 is slidably mounted in the bracket 28 and is moved longitudinally thereof by means of a lever 47, pivoted to said bracket 28 and engaging the flange 48, formed upon the top of said pin 46. A spiral spring 49, fastened at one end to said lever 47 and at the other end to the base-plate 25, holds the pin 46 normally down in the position illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the lower end of said pin projecting through a slot 50 in the work-plate 21 and into a cam-groove 51, formed in the up er face of the clamp-actuating cam 52. Tl fe slot 50 is of the usual form in machines of this class and consists of a semicircular portion 53 and two radial portions 54 and 55, arran ed diametrically opposite each other at t e o posite ends, respectively, of the semicircu ar portion 53.

The operation of my improved fabricclamp, hereinbefore specifically described, is as follows: Assuming the parts to be in the position illustrated in Fig. 4that is, with the presser-feet raisedthe fabric is inserted beneath the resser-feet 32 and 33 and above the fabric-supporting parts 39 and 40. The lever 34 is moved from the substantially horizontal position (illustrated in Fig. 4) to the vertica position, (illustrated in Fig. 3,) thus clamping the fabric between the presserfeet 32 and 33 and the fabric-supporting parts 39 and 40, this clampin action being obtained by the short arm of the lev r 34 pressing downwardly upon the short arms 36 of the V-springs 30 and 31, thus lowering the long arms 37 of said V-springs, and with them the resser-feet 32 and 33, until said presser-feet contact with the fabric and press it against the upper surface of the two parts 39 and 40 of the fabric-support. During the latter part of this movement the arm 34 engages the upwardly-extending rearward end 42 of the cam-lever 42 and rocks said lever 42 upon its pivot, spreading the free ends of the fabric-supporting parts 39 and 40 away from each other and at the same time stretching a portion of said fabric between said parts 39 and 40 and also moving the presserfeet 32 and 33 laterally awayfrom each other,

so that when the buttonhole is cut the ten-' sion on the cloth will cause the two sides of said buttonhole to be spread laterally away from each other.

The feed of the clamp during the sewing of the buttonhole is accomplished by means of the cam 52, the pin 46, and the slot in the work-plate 21. This operation being well known to those skilled in the art and forming no part of the present invention, it is not nec essary to specifically describe the same other than to say that the clamp is first fed for ward by the movement of the cam 52 along the radial portion of the slot 50, then around the circular portion 53 of said slot while the round end of the buttonhole is being sewed, and finally around the radial portion 54 of said slot while the other straight side of the buttonhole is being sewed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire by Letters Patent to secure, is

1. A clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a pair of V-springs pivoted at their apices to said base-plate, a presser-foot located upon each side of said slot, each of said presser-feet mounted upon one end, respectively, of said V-springs, and a lever adapted to press against the other ends of said V- springs, whereby said springs are rocked upon their pivots and said presser-feet are moved toward said base-plate.

2. A clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a pair of V-springs pivoted at their apices to said base-plate, a presser-foot located upon each side of said slot, each of said presser-feet mounted upon one end, respectively, of said V-springs, a lever adapted to press against the other ends of said V-springs whereby said springs are rocked upon their pivots and said presser-feet are moved toward said base-plate, and a spring to rock said V-springs in the opposite direction.

3.A clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a pair of V-springs pivoted at their apices to said base-plate, a presser-foot located upon each side of said slot, each of said presser-feet mounted'upon one end, respectively, of said V-springs, a lever adapted to press against the other ends of said V-springs, whereby said springs are rocked upon their pivots and said presser-feet are moved toward said base-plate, and means to move said presser-feet laterally away from each other.

4. A clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a pair of \I-springs pivoted at their apices to saidbase-plate, apresser-footlocated upon each side of said slot, each of said presserfeet mounted upon one end, respectively, of said Vsprings, a leverladapted to press against the other ends of said Vsprings, whereby said springs are rocked upon their pivots and said presser-feet are moved toward said baseplate, a spring to rock said V-springs in the opposite direction, means to move said presser-feet laterally away from each other, and a U-spring, the free ends thereof engaging said V-springs, whereby said V-springs are rocked vertically and horizontally upon their pivots.

5. A clamp for buttonhole-sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a fabric-support in two parts pivoted to rock horizontally on said base-plate, a cam pivoted to said base-plate between the free ends of said parts, a spring engaging said parts and holding them in engagement with said cam, and another lever pivoted to said base-plate and adapted to engage said camlever and rock the same upon its pivot.

6. A clamp for buttonhole -sewing machines comprising in its construction a baseplate provided with a slot extending therethrough, a presser-foot in two parts pivoted to rock vertically on said base-plate, means to move said resser-foot parts laterally toward and away from each other, said parts located on opposite sides, respectively, of said slot, a fabric-support in two parts pivoted to rock horizontally on said base-plate, a cam pivoted to said base-plate between the free ends of said fabric-support parts, a spring engaging said fabric-support parts and holding them in engagement with said cam, and another lever pivoted to said base-plate and adapted to engage said cam-lever and rock the same upon its pivot.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing JOHN KIEWIQZ.

'nesses.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. GooDING, ANNIE J. DAILEY. 

